The Golden Horseshoe Variety Show opens with a piano player who begins by warming up the audience with lively music. He is interrupted by the saloon janitor, who informs him that the entire cast of the Variety Show are missing. Realizing that the missing performers need to be replaced, the janitor agrees to fill in for all the missing acts.
The janitor than goes backstage and proceeds to disguise himself as the various missing acts. Among them are Waldo, the Magnificent [who does balloon tricks], Clem, the hillbilly juggler, and a magician who performs with the “psychic parrot in a banana tree”, Luigi.
The Story of Dana Daniels
In 1983, Dana Daniels was hired to perform magic, juggling and comedy in the streets and on the stages of the happiest place on earth, Disneyland. He soon became a substitute in the Golden Horseshoe Revue playing Pecos Bill and performing juggling two days a week.
The Opening Marquee
The Janitor enters
The janitor will play all the missing parts
Hal 's interlude music
It was while attending a performance of the Broadway hit, “Sugar Babies" that Daniels first thought of a psychic parrot act.
Later, he heard about an audition for a touring company of the popular show. Dancers were to audition in person; variety acts by video tape. Dana packed up his act, dressed in full costume, and drove down to the dancers audition. With a carpetbag in one hand and a parrot in the other, he waited patiently in a hallway filled with aspiring and perspiring dancers. Each held a resume in one hand and a cigarette in the other, and all of them stared at Dana like he was from Mars.
Introducing the 1st act
Waldo the Magnificent
Waldo does his tricks....
....with audience children.
"Look Mom, no hands."
Onto the next act....
In 1994, Disneyland had decided to close its long-running show, The Golden Horseshoe Jamboree, remembering the popularity of his psychic parrot, Dana approached Disney management about the possibility of doing a one man show in the Golden Horseshoe 2 days a week when the Billy Hill Show was not running.
The First Golden Horseshoe
Variety Show starring Dana Daniels was June 13, 1995.
Dana wrote the show himself and with the help of a side man/pianist and his favorite sidekick, his parrot, Luigi, the Golden Horseshoe Variety Show as born.
In November, of 1999, the Golden Horseshoe Variety Show was cancelled temporarily to make way for Woody’s Round-up, but it returned in July of 2000.
Nothing ever stays the same at Disneyland, and on Wednesday,
October 8, 2003, The Golden Horseshoe Variety Show performed it's final show at 5:30 pm after 4000+ performances. Guests at the final performance included Dana Daniels' wife, Jane and two children, many fellow castmembers, his former piano player, Richard Allen, original sound technician, Bobby Davis, dozens of friends and fans as well as special guest, Wally Boag, star of the original Golden Horseshoe Revue for over 27 years and Dana Daniels' mentor. The show was replaced with the Billy Hill and the Hillbillies Show going 7 days a week with three different Billy Hill teams and at least one new Hillbilly show.
To see the pictures of the final Golden Horseshoe Variety Show, CLICK HERE
Below is a partial list of the artists who have worked in the
Golden Horseshoe Variety Show:
Dana Daniels
1995 - 2003
Lead – magician/comedy
Bobby Davis
1995 - present
Sound/Lighting Technician
Gary Cherno
1995 - present
Sound/Lighting Technician
John "Hal" Ratliff
1998 - 2003
Musician - Piano
Richard Allen
1995-1998
Musician - Piano
Attention Former Golden Horseshoe Cast Members and Performers!
If you were a former Golden Horseshoe Saloon performer or technician between the years 1955 to the present, and would like to be included in this [still incomplete] list of
Golden Horseshoe Cast Members,
OR, if you have additional information or corrections to make to this history,
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